Blinded by a Panera Straw

As dictated to Shaunti’s staff director Linda Crews since Shaunti can’t read or write…

Blinded by a Panera Straw

I have to let you all know about the freakiest accident that happened on Sunday night.  I was at Panera Bread near my church, sipping on a drink while getting into my van to pick up my daughter from her youth group, and as I got into the car I somehow stumbled and managed to jab my plastic straw straight into my eyeball.

Excruciating pain. Like stick a needle in my eye kind of pain.  Who knew the eyeball had that many nerve endings?

Thank God I knew some folks sitting in Panera Bread that night as well, and I went stumbling back in to speak to my new heroes of the week, Dan Case, who is a pastor at my church, and his wife Sandy. They were magnificent.  First, they made me sit down to look at my eye, and when they did, I saw them flinch and look at each other. (Why is that when you see someone else flinch when they look at your injury it just compounds your pain?) They said carefully, “I think we should take you to the Emergency room.”

So they both drove me to the local emergency room.  Then Dan went to get Jeff to come pick up the van while Sandy sat with me for several hours in the ER while they did their tests. (As an aside: Boy, am I grateful I try to live a relatively transparent life.  When your pastor’s wife is sitting with you in the ER while they ask all those awkward intake questions like, “Any recreational drug use?” It is a relief to be able to answer “no.”)

So back to the painful tests… The bottom line is: I tore a strip off my cornea. (Note from Linda: Ewwww. Does it make your eyeball hurt just to hear that?) They say thankfully eye injuries heal more quickly than expected, and this should heal okay, but it will be really painful for a while. (I’m thinking ‘no duh’.)

Unfortunately, the injury is severe enough that I not only have to have a patch over the bad eye, but I cannot open the good eye at all.  Because if I do the bad eye tracks with the good eye, and hurts just as much as that original stick-a-needle-in-my-eye pain. I am basically unable to read or write.  (Another note from Linda: Shaunti is the only Harvard grad I know who is illiterate.)

All joking aside, I‘ve been spending the last couple of days trying to rest my eye in a darkened room; with pain killers, antibiotic eye drops, ophthalmologist visits, praying that there is no permanent damage and that I don’t have to cancel too many speaking engagements as a result of this.  Already had to cancel one since the doctor wouldn’t allow me to drive to Chattanooga today with an eye patch on.  Spoilsport. And thankfully, this morning, I’m regaining the use of my good eye.  I can open it without wanting to knock myself out to stop the pain.

So hopefully I’ll be okay for my event this weekend.  And I’m going to see a corneal specialist this morning, since the ophthalmologist couldn’t see how deep the injury went and wants a specialist to look at it.

I just wanted to let you guys all know what had happened so you could be praying for no permanent damage and that I can meet all of my commitments.  I’ll let you know what happens from here.

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